The invention relates to a capsule holder for conventional pharmaceutical capsules, particularly for use in conjunction with inhalers in which capsules filled with micronised drug preparation are used.
Inhalers for powder inhalation, by means of which powdered drugs can be inhaled from capsules, are widely used. The older versions were designed so that they could hold only one capsule (DE-A 14 91 715; DE-A 33 45 722).
In order to make refilling easier for the patient, inhalers were later developed in which a number of capsules could be stored (e.g. DE-A 39 27 170). The chambers or recesses intended to hold the capsules have a larger diameter than the capsules.
When the inhaler is open, the capsules can easily fall out during handling, as they are not fixed in the individual chambers. In asthma attacks, in particular, when the patient wishes to inhale rapidly, it is a problem if the capsules are lying loose in the inhaler, as the patient also has to take care to ensure that the capsules do not fall out of the device during use. On the other hand, it is desirable that the empty capsules be removed immediately after use without at the same time allowing the full capsules to fall out, so that it is easy to tell how big a supply of full capsules is still present in the device.